


Slow it Down

by tomlinbum



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M, Snogging, Werewolf AU, acidental changes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-28
Updated: 2013-04-28
Packaged: 2017-12-09 20:06:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/777489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tomlinbum/pseuds/tomlinbum
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis is a werewolf. When Harry finds out, he doesn't quite give a shit. (werewolf au)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Slow it Down

Louis Changed for the first time on his sixteenth birthday. He’d been scared, not knowing what the hell was going on, but his dad had been prepared. His dad had known, all along, about Louis, considering every man in the family Changed on their sixteenth birthday (ever since his great-great-great-great-great-great-great granddad had been cursed by a witch for not marrying her or something along those lines).

 

After his dad had given him the talk about keeping his urges down and how to settle himself so that if he’d feel like he’d change, he wouldn’t, he’d disappeared without novice. Louis always thought it was his fault, but maybe it wasn’t. Maybe there was a bigger purpose for his father’s disappearance.

———

Louis had worked extremely hard for the following months to keep his urges to Change down. It was difficult, and sometimes he didn’t succeed, but it wasn’t exactly impossible. He had to learn how to maintain himself fully, though, because he had a mum and four younger sisters to support and if one day he let his anger get to him and he Changed, he could hurt one of them (or anyone else, really) and he’d never forgive himself if he were to do such a thing.

It took him the total of two years to perfect his ability to control his Change. He only changed when necessary (mostly to hunt, because he liked fresh meat instead of store-bought meat) and could control himself to not Change when he’d been angry, upset, irritated… or even aroused (which was pretty hard to explain when he’d tried the dating thing for the first time since the Change and the bloke he was dating had straddle him, kissing down his neck, and his tail and ears had started to come out).

He had everything perfect, well almost, for the most part. He’d had his Change ability under control, his mum was just getting back on her feet with a new job, and they had enough money to pay for bills _and_  get enough food for them all to have enough to eat.

And then Harry Styles came along.

——-

Louis can’t quite remember how Harry ended up in his life. All he can remember is that one day he didn’t know anyone named Harry Styles with the curliest fucking hair ever and the greenest eyes existed and then the next Harry was weaving his way into Louis’s life with his stupid fucking dimples.

The first time Louis and Harry ever really hung out with each other – alone, that is – was somewhere about two weeks after he’d sort of kind of known Harry.

They were sitting outside of Harry’s house, a plate of cookies on a tray placed on the side table by the swing. Louis could feel Harry’s happiness radiating off of his body and something about Harry made his skin feel tingly. And it wasn’t the tingly you get after your foot or fingers fall asleep and they start to wake up. It was a tingly feeling as if someone with very cold breath was breathing down his neck.

And then it was taken over by a fuzzy burning feeling – and Louis has had enough of those to know exactly what was coming up.

He’d quickly apologized to Harry and told him that he’d needed to go home, that he was feeling suddenly ill, running to his car before anything Changed.

Before he got out of the driveway, though, a thick, furry tail ripped out of Louis’s trousers, making sitting in the seat of the car very uncomfortable.

Once Louis was at least a mile away from Harry’s house, the tail disappeared and was replaced with an unsettled feeling in Louis’s stomach.

———

After that, Louis wasn’t quite sure what caused his sudden Change. He knew for sure that he’d had it under control and sought out to see what the reason was for why he’d had a sudden Change.

He’d decided going to the library to research some of the old history books about werewolves would be one of his best options, considering you can’t quite believe just anything you see online and he’d had no other way to figure it out, other than putting together the puzzle by himself (which wasn’t going to happen).

After looking through a wide variety of different opinions on the matter, he’d found out one thing: the source of his sudden Change was Harry and he didn’t know whether that was a good thing or not.

Because in the books, he’d read that a sudden Change can be caused by someone that will be important and special to you in your life. It’s caused by your hormones speeding up and feeling like they’re on an adrenaline rush from being around the person. Most people call them butterflies.

Louis believes in soul mates, of course he does. It’s a proven fact that everyone has a soul mate; just some people are too blind to notice that they indeed exist. But he didn’t think he’d be finding his so soon in his life and that it would cause as many problems as he’s pretty sure it will.

———

Louis tries to stay away from Harry for the next week, not wanting to go near him until he can figure out how to not have his Change triggered. Since he figured out why he started to Change, he’d started to feel a pull in his chest when he’s not thinking about Harry. It’s like he’s attached to Harry, now that he knows about the whole soul mate thing. He’s drawn to Harry, wants to go near him every day, just to be around him, but knows he can’t. It’s almost like the situation with his mum and sisters before he knew how to handle himself and control his Change, but different because it’s _Harry_.

He talks to Harry every day, though, almost like they’re dating, but they aren’t because Louis is pretty sure Harry doesn’t know how he’s supposed to feel about him yet (or maybe he does but he’s scared to show it, scared of the rejection Louis might give him).

Harry asks him to come over Friday that he’s got to tell Louis something. Louis wonders what it is, wanting to know now (and the fact that he  _can’t_ go over there, not yet anyway, can’t risk hurting Harry or freaking him out) but Harry insists he has to tell Louis in person. Which, yeah, okay.

Louis seems to be incapable of telling Harry anything but yes, do anything but agree with him.

———

When Louis goes over to Harry’s house, Harry invites him into his room. Louis knows it’s a bad idea – it’s a fucking horrific idea, considering just being around Harry brings out his inner wolf, but being in Harry’s  _room_ ; not such a good idea. But he goes wantonly because it’s Harry and he wants him to smile and be happy and if going in his room and letting him tell Louis what he needs to will make him smile, then so be it.

Louis slowly sits next to Harry on his bed and when Harry looks over at him with a huge smile on his face, Louis’s stomach starts doing summersaults and his skin starts to feel clammy.

“Okay, so, um. I’m not quite sure how to say this?” Harry starts, flushing a beautiful shade of red. His lips are puffier than usual – and redder, jesus Christ this kid is gonna kill him – from how much he’s biting into it, most likely from nerves (for what reason, Louis has no clue, but he’d be damned if he isn’t going to investigate and find the fuck out).

“Say what?” he asks Harry. Harry blinks for a second too long and seemingly makes his mind up about a particular thing that had been bothering him.

“I – just. Don’t hit me or anything, okay?” Harry says. Louis looks at him, confused, in the process of asking why would he ever hit Harry, but before he can, Harry is kissing him.

It isn’t just an innocent peck of lips, either. It’s a full on snog, Harry putting all of his energy and pent-up frustration into the kiss, not even noticing that Louis hasn’t begun to kiss him back yet. Harry is sitting halfway into Louis’s lap, his large hands engulfing Louis’s face, his thumb gently brushing the skin just below Louis’s right eye.

Louis feels as if every inch of his body has been set on fire. His lips feel detached from his body and he knows kissing Harry back would be a bloody stupid idea, but he does anyway because how could he not?

His arms come up to wrap around Harry’s waist, his hands gripping at Harry’s hips as his lips move hotly against Harry’s. Harry slips his tongue into Louis’s mouth, moaning when Louis prods his tongue right back against Harry’s, their lips tangling together in the middle of where their mouths are collided.

Louis can feel inside his veins that he’s about to Change, can feel his blood working overtime (and it isn’t because of arousal), speeding through his veins to all the wrong places. Louis pulls away from Harry’s lips at lightning speed, pushing Harry over in the process until Harry’s sprawled onto the floor, and rushes to the only place he can think of that would be safe with a lock: the bathroom.

He grips the edge of the sink, looking at himself in the mirror and breathing deeply in and out through his mouth. He has ears growing from the top of his head, furry and a dark brown, replacing his normal ears and a furry tail swishing violently behind him.

He hears an almost silent knock at the door and a croak of, “Lou?”

Louis breathes deeper, harsher. If he answers Harry, his voice might turn out deeper, or might not be a human voice at all. He can’t risk anything, can’t have Harry find anything out before it’s time. He can’t lose Harry before he’s got him.

“If I – if I did something wrong just tell me, yeah? I mean, you were kissing me back? I’m just confused, Lou. Please talk to me,” Harry pleads from the other side of the door and Louis turns on the water, watching it speed from the faucet.

He hears a sad sigh and then footsteps and the close of a bedroom door and he thinks  _I’m fucked_ because now he’s got to explain and there’s no way in hell he can get away from this when he’s locked up in Harry’s bathroom.

———

He waits a while after he’s Changed back, not wanting to have his wolf-instincts so close to the surface when he goes to talk to Harry.

When he exits the bathroom, he goes in search of Harry, finding him sitting on the sofa in the living room and staring sadly at a blank television screen.

“Harry?” Louis asks from behind the sofa.

Harry doesn’t reply, giving Louis profoundly the same silent treatment that he’d had given Harry previously.

Louis sighs, walks to the front of the sofa and sits in Harry’s lap, forcing Harry to have no other choice but to look at him.

“If you didn’t want me… why’d you kiss me back?” he asks, his voice cracking. He sounds like he’d been crying and the thought hits Louis in the chest – hard.

“I do want you, Harry, I do, I just – I can’t have you. Not yet, at least,” Louis says, quietly, barely straining his voice.

Harry blinks, “What is that supposed to mean, Louis?”

Louis exhales deeply and then buries his head in the crook of Harry’s neck, rubbing his nose softly against the pale flesh, “I promise once I figure out what’s going on and how to control it, then we can be together. I like you, Harry, I do. But I can’t hurt you. I’d never forgive myself.”

Harry’s hands dig into Louis’s shoulders, “I’m so confused. But – I think I can wait? For you to explain what the hell you’re going on about, at least.”

Louis looks up at Harry, his face even with his and smiles at him.

“Yeah? No questions? You’ll just… wait until I’m ready to tell you?”

Harry smiles back and nods, “No questions. I’ll wait. I can wait. For you.”

———-

After that, Louis did more research on the best ways to control yourself from Changing on surprise occasions.

He’d read a few things that said a good diet and daily exercise could help you control your body better, thus making when you Change up to you. He decided to go for it and tried it out for a month, finding that it helped a bit but not all the way.  (He’d went to Harry’s the day after a month had passed and pushed Harry against a wall, kissing him and causing him to moan in his mouth, his hands searching for purchase on his back and he’d lasted five minutes of snogging before his whole body became clammy and he could feel himself Changing. After he came out of the bathroom, calmed down, he was a bit better, pecking Harry softly on the lips and lying down with him to watch a movie.)

He found that meditation worked the best out of everything, though. If he meditated when he woke up and before he’d go hang out with Harry, he’d feel more at peace with himself, not having to worry about Changing (but he hadn’t tried snogging Harry again, yet; he’s too afraid that everything will all go to shit again).

———

Louis is at Harry’s house, Harry straddling his lap and biting at his neck, rutting down into the bulge in Louis’s trousers. Louis knows that any minute now something bad could happen – he could Change and hurt Harry (and god, how would he ever live with himself if he were to do that?) – but he can’t stop. He can’t find it in himself to stop Harry from kissing him or his neck or rubbing against Louis because it feels so fucking good and he just doesn’t _want_  to stop.

His skin feels clammy and he can tell his eyes are glassy and hard – his eyes are the only thing that’s Changed so far and hopefully will be the only thing because there’s no way he’s going to muster up enough self-restraint and push Harry away for a third time.

Harry pulls away from his neck, his lips big and puffy like the first time they’d kissed. Louis wants to ravish him, then, kiss and lick every inch of skin on his body, find out which places Harry reacts to his touch the most and which places Harry likes to be kissed the best.

But Harry’s eye brows are coming together in a furrow and he’s scooting back a bit to get a better look at Louis and at first, Louis isn’t thinking – can’t really think with the lust-crazy haze that’s clouding his brain.

But then he thinks  _oh shit, my eyes, he’s looking at my eyes_ and tries to do something about it (close his eyes, cover them, do  _something_ ) but it’s too late, Harry’s already seen them and there’s no way he can keep his secret from him any longer.

“Your eyes? They’re – they’re like a gray color? Why are they gray, Louis?” Harry asks.

Louis looks away, looks to his side table, the window, anywhere  _but_  Harry.

Harry shakes his head and pulls Louis’s face until Louis is looking at him again, “I’ve waited long enough, Lou. Please – please tell me what’s going on. I need to know. Please.”

Louis shakes his head because  _no, Harry can’t find out, he can’t tell him; this isn’t happening, none of it is happening._

“Please, Lou. Whatever it is it probably isn’t even bad or whatever,” he breathes, placing a kiss at the corner of Louis’s mouth, “I need to know, Lou. I can’t keep racking my brain with different possibilities of why we can’t be together. Why we have to bloody  _wait_. Just – please tell me.”

Louis sighs and he feels like he’s going to cry because he can’t tell Harry. He knows he has to but, jesus fuck, if he does Harry’ll leave him and Louis isn’t sure if he can handle that.

“I just – I want to tell you, Haz. Trust me, I do. It’s not like I can’t tell you or anything. It’s just that I don’t particularly  _want_ to,” Louis replies in an eight inch voice. He can’t do this. He can’t see Harry scream and run away from him when he tells him about what he is. He can’t deal with that heartbreak.

“Why not?” Harry asks softly, in his motherly tone that he always uses when Louis is acting like a shit.

“ _Because_ ,” Louis says, “Once you know – that’s it. You’ll hate me. You won’t want anything to do with me and then I’ll lose you but I  _can’t lose you_ , Harry, I can’t.”

“You won’t,” Harry promises, his fingers digging into Louis’s hips like a promise.

“I’m a werewolf,” Louis says without thinking, his brain working on overdrive of  _leaveleaveleave_ and  _lonelylonelylonely._

Harry’s eyes widen in shock, “Louis this isn’t some kind of game or something. Stop fucking with me. Did you really expect me to believe that, you bastard?”

Louis wants to cry.

“I’m not lying. God, I wish I was lying, Harry, but I’m not. A long, long time ago my great-great-great-great-great-great-great granddad got cursed. The whole line of men in my family Changed into werewolves on their sixteenth birthday. It’s how it is and I haven’t got any control over it. The day I Changed, my dad told me bluntly that there were ways to stop me from slaughtering the whole town if I tried hard enough. And then he left. And I had been good at channeling myself and controlling myself until the day I first came over here. The day we first kissed and I locked myself into the bathroom was because I Changed and I didn’t want you to know about it.”

Harry licks his lips, “Can you prove it?”

Louis blanches. “I’ve just told you I’m a werewolf and you want me to bloody _prove_  it? Why aren’t you screaming and telling me to get away from you?”

Harry shrugs, “Maybe because a part of me doesn’t really believe that any of this is true. Or just maybe because I might be a bit in love with you?”

Louis freezes, every vein in his body stopping at those words.

“You – you what?” he asks, his voice shaky because this isn’t how he’d thought it would have gone at all. He thought Harry would hate him, would scream at him, try to kill him, do something. But what he thought he would do was definitely not  _this_.

“I’m in love with you,” Harry says and then he smiles, giddy, like he can’t quite believe it himself. “I’m in love with you and if you’re a werewolf, you’re going to have to prove it to me Louis William Tomlinson because for some reason I find it quite hot that you turn into an animal.”

Louis smirks, “You find it hot, hmm?”

Harry giggles, “That’s not the point. I want to see. I still think you’re kind of fucking around with me – trying to prank me or some shit.”

Louis shakes his head, “I can’t Change. Not around you.”

“Why not?” Harry asks, cocking his head to the side while he contemplates what Louis said.

“Because,” Louis says, shaking his head again, “You don’t understand, Harry – when I change, I go full animal. I don’t quite care about anyone, who anyone is. If my instincts kick in, I could really hurt someone. I could hurt you. And I couldn’t live with myself if I did hurt you.”

Harry bites his lip, head still cocked to the side, and then finally says, “Alright, fine. You don’t have to Change for me. But since I know now, does that mean we get to snog more? Because that will definitely be a bloody plus to this whole crazy thing.”

Louis laughs, but says  _fuck all_  and leans in, kissing Harry without worrying so much about anything else other than the feel of his lips against his own. 


End file.
